After three long days at the NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders was finally selected in the fifth round with the 144th draft pick by the Cleveland Browns. We all predicted Sanders’ draft stock would slide, but not by this much. Don’t get it twisted, Sanders is very talented and will do wonders in the league when his time comes.
However, the Pittsburgh Steelers screwed up here by not drafting him, but that’s a story for another day. Despite Sanders being drafted late in the NFL Draft, he’ll potentially join a list of notable NFL superstars who were drafted in the later rounds, like George Kittle, Richard Sherman, Puka Nacua, and, of course, the GOAT himself, Tom Brady. In the meantime, here at TPS, we’re going to explore the 10 reasons why Shedeur Sanders wasn’t drafted in the first round.
Here are the 10 Reasons Why Shedeur Sanders Wasn’t Drafted In the First Round And Fell To The 5th Round.
Why did Shedeur Sanders fall drastically in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Arm Strength and Athleticism:
Scouts and analysts were worried about Sander’s arm strength and athleticism, and how either of those wouldn’t translate to the professional level. Other teams weren’t convinced his style of play would work at the professional level. Sanders has a good deep ball, but many scouts and draft analysts alike said his deep ball isn’t great. His short throws are wobbly at times, which is a concern for teams that run a lot of quick timing routes to get the ball moving in a much faster-paced environment like the NFL.
Sanders isn’t a mobile quarterback either, as he was sacked 94 times during his two seasons with the Colorado Buffaloes, and his ability to extend plays with his footwork can be limited, which is why we saw NFL teams draft other quarterbacks ahead of Sanders, because they were able to show great mobility and athleticism with their legs compared to Sanders.
Some scouts have compared Shedeur Sanders to backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor with their similar build and strengths, but the comparison stops there, as it all comes down to Sanders’ folding under some high-pressure situations. Despite that, Sanders needs to improve and find his groove once he gets onto the practice field and begins working with his new Cleveland Browns teammates.
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On-Field Performance:
Although we spoke about Shedeur Sanders’ on-field performance briefly in Arm Strength and Athleticism, it’s also important to note his on-field performance has been questioned. Sure, his father and Jackson State/ Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders laughed it off, but it should be noted that Sanders has tended to hold onto the ball for too long and was sacked 94 times in his last two seasons at the FBS level, which is a massive concern.
On top of that, Sanders skipped the on-the-field workouts at the NFL Combine and the Big 12 Pro Day, which is never a good sign for NFL teams looking to find and develop their next signal-caller, even though Sanders didn’t let the critics get to him.
Sanders did work out at the Colorado “CU Football Showcase” in early April, saying he was thankful for all of the resources he has available. Regardless, Sanders needs to learn and develop from his new Browns teammates, like veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett, on how to perform at the NFL level.
Coaches weren’t impressed with the interviews:
When anyone applies for a job, employers expect job candidates to showcase why they should earn the position at that company. In Shedeur Sanders’ case, NFL coaches weren’t impressed by interviewing him, and they felt he came off as too arrogant and brash during the interviews, which is a red flag for NFL teams. An anonymous assistant coach said interviewing Sanders was “the worst formal interview I’ve been in, in my life,” and also said Sanders was very entitled due to being raised by his father, Deion.
An anonymous AFC Executive said, “It didn’t go great in our interview. He wanted to dictate what he’s going to do and what’s best for him. He makes you feel small.”
Todd McShay revealed that Sanders did not have a good interview with New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll during a private visit when an install package came in; Sanders didn’t like it, and Daboll didn’t appreciate him not liking the install packages. Like we said earlier, it’s never a good sign when the interview goes south. Job applicants, or in this case, future NFL Players, need to interview at their best for the next step in their professional career.
Deion Sanders having influence on which teams should draft Shedeur:
As we all know, Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders is Shedeur’s father, and he will always want what’s best for his son. However, there does come a time when a figure like Sanders, with his institutional knowledge and influence, can be a bit much. Deion Sanders has ripped anonymous critics of Shedeur before the 2025 NFL Draft, and took some shots at Joe Flacco by saying, “Flacco my age,” even though Flacco is 17 years younger than Deion Sanders. Eventually, Shedeur was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, who signed Flacco earlier this offseason, which will make for some awkward moments during practice.
On top of that, Sanders also had a list of teams he would’ve loved to see draft his son and a list of On top of that, Sanders also had a list of teams he would have loved to see draft his son and a list of teams he didn’t want drafting Shedeur. Deion responded by saying this supposed list was a lie, and he knows a lot of NFL Owners and a lot of other big-name figures. Despite that, it didn’t help Shedeur’s case to determine why the Browns ended up drafting him in the fifth round.
As mentioned earlier, there’s nothing wrong with a father wanting what’s best for his child, but Deion Sanders won’t be Shedeur’s coach anymore, and he’ll have to learn to adapt to practicing and games without Deion in the NFL.
Off-The-Field Concerns:
Before Sanders was drafted by the Cleveland Browns with the 144th pick, he faced character concerns. And came across as pretty nervy during pre-draft interviews. Other teams questioned his professional approach as he expressed an interest in pursuing a music career. Other athletes have released music, like his father Deion and Ron Artest (now named Metta Sandiford-Artest), but this supposed music path showed NFL teams a lack of commitment to the sport, especially when NFL teams value football players who will dedicate their time and effort to performing at their best on the field and always looking to improve every week.
Sanders didn’t do himself any favors by sitting out the East-West Shrine Bowl practices and the game itself, but appeared at the bowl anyway and met with NFL coaches. Wanting to make music and a questionable commitment to the NFL may be nitpicking, but when you add it up, it does make us wonder if Sanders can lead professionals in an NFL locker room.
However, it’s still not known if any of these off-field issues will affect Shedeur Sanders’ performance and growth in the NFL. We’ll just have to wait and see what will happen when the 2025 season kicks off.
Other Quarterbacks are being evaluated much higher:
Before the start of the 2025 NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders was projected to get drafted in the first round due to his name recognition and being the son of Deion Sanders, but quarterbacks like Jaxon Dart, Tyler Shough, Jalen Milroe, and Dillon Gabriel were all drafted before Sanders. Cam Ward was going to be the first pick of the draft, no questions asked.
However, NFL talent evaluators were less impressed with Sanders than the draft analysts. As mentioned earlier, scouts were concerned about Shedeur Sanders getting sacked 94 times during his time with the Colorado Buffaloes, even though he completed 74 percent of his passes in 2024.
Dart, who was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants, completed 69.3 percent of his passes with Ole Miss in 2024. Shough, who was drafted by the New Orleans Saints, played college football since 2018, and completed 62.7 percent of his passes with Louisville in 2024. Jalen Milroe, who was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks, completed 64.3 percent of his passes in 2024. Dillon Gabriel, who was drafted by the Browns and is Sanders’ new teammate, completed 72.9 percent of his passes with Oregon in 2024. Even though the other quarterbacks have slightly smaller passing percentages, the quarterbacks selected before Sanders had a bigger impact on NFL scouts and coaches who interviewed them.
Once Sanders gets his feet wet in his first few NFL practices, he should emerge on the Cleveland Browns’ depth chart, depending on what happens in the 2025 season.
Too Much Publicity:
Shedeur has caused too much publicity due to his name recognition and being the son of Deion Sanders, who was a very polarizing Hall of Fame cornerback during his time in the NFL, and his performance during his two seasons at Colorado. While some teams didn’t mind his publicity, other teams found Sanders’ publicity to be a massive distraction because of his famed personality, his father’s influence, and his on-field performance.
Sanders also had his number two jersey retired by the Colorado Buffaloes, which drew a lot of publicity and controversy, with some people calling the retirement premature. Don’t get us wrong, Sanders did some great things during his two seasons with the Buffaloes, but some people thought the jersey retirement was to appease his father, Deion Sanders, even though Sanders never won a conference title and the Buffaloes were blown out 14-36 by the BYU Cougars in the 2024 Alamo Bowl.
Once Sanders was drafted, a video was posted of him jumping into a swimming pool. Although the video was lighthearted, it can be a bit distracting and perceived as negative by others.
Limited Quarterback Market:
There were 14 quarterbacks taken in the 2025 NFL Draft, with Shedeur Sanders being the sixth quarterback drafted this year. Many teams, at the start of the 2025 offseason in March, addressed their need for a quarterback, while other teams like the Tennessee Titans and New York Giants drafted their quarterback of the future. However, Sanders joins the Cleveland Browns, who have a large quarterback room with Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, and fellow 2025 NFL Draftee Dillon Gabriel on the roster, with the team pretty much done with Deshaun Watson. Sanders will have to earn the starting job.
Other NFL teams drafted quarterbacks who will either become backups or the successors to seasoned veterans on their current rosters. For example, Tyler Shough was drafted in the second round of the draft by the New Orleans Saints, as insurance to Derek Carr.
However, one of the teams that could’ve drafted Sanders, but didn’t, was the Pittsburgh Steelers, who many thought would draft him with the 21st pick of the 2025 Draft. However, the Steelers did draft Will Howard with the 197th pick. That decision may come back to bite them, as Sanders was selected by their longtime AFC North rivals, if Sanders becomes a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback. We’ll just have to see what happens as Sanders’ NFL career begins.
Decision-Making and Toughness:
Although Shedeur Sanders is talented and should do well competing for the starting quarterback job with the Cleveland Browns, his decision-making skills have been questioned in recent days. Sanders has read defensive coverages slowly at times, played in a wonky offense, coached by former NFL head coach Pat Shurmur, even though he threw passes to Travis Hunter, arguably the best football player in the country, and some of his critics have said his deep ball isn’t accurate enough.
Sanders has shown to hold onto the ball too long at times, which can be a problem for offenses running hurry-up styled plays. Especially when Sanders has to compete against some of the NFL’s most elite defenses like the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense and the Baltimore Ravens’ defense, who so happen to play in the AFC North.
Shedeur Sanders won’t be a one-man franchise quarterback coming to the Browns. He’s going to have to compete for his spot on the roster, unlike his time at Jackson State and Colorado.
However, Sanders’ toughness is unquestionable; he can find success on offense, even though he doesn’t have the size or arm strength. Now the question is, will Sanders’ toughness show during his first NFL game? Whether it’s in the preseason, regular season, or postseason?
The Browns’ perceived needs:
The Cleveland Browns needed a new quarterback after Deshaun Watson re-aggravated his Achilles. The Browns traded Dorian Thompson-Robinson to the Philadelphia Eagles and replaced him with Kenny Pickett, the Browns brought back veteran Joe Flacco, who led the Browns to a playoff appearance in 2023, and drafted Dillon Gabriel with the 94th pick of the 2025 NFL Draft and of course Shedeur Sanders with the 144th pick of the draft. The Browns have a fully loaded quarterback rotation, but one or two of these quarterbacks might not even make the final 53-man roster by the time the 2025 regular season opens up.
Shedeur Sanders told reporters after he was drafted that he has some things to clean up in his game and is a great fit for the Browns. We at TPS certainly hope that is the case.
